WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump and Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb will meet on Oct 9 at the White House, planning to approve a pact for the US Coast Guard to buy up to four icebreaker ships from Finnish shipyards.

Mr Trump and Mr Stubb have established friendly ties since Mr Trump regained power in January, and the two met in March at the president’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida and played a round of golf.

Mr Trump has consistently called for the United States to acquire as many as 40 new icebreakers to

enhance US national security in the Arctic

A White House official said Mr Trump would sign a memorandum of understanding with Finland to build four “Arctic security cutters” at shipyards in Finland, calling the plan a national security necessity to permit foreign construction.

“We will then leverage Finnish expertise to construct up to seven new ASCs in shipyards located in the United States,” the official said.

The 11 Arctic security cutters, a new medium icebreaker to be used by the US Coast Guard, are expected to cost about US$6.1 billion (S$7.9 billion), the official said.

Three of the ships will be built by Davie in Galveston, Texas, and four will be built by Bollinger Shipyards in Houma, Louisiana, the official said.

The aim is for the first icebreaker to be delivered by 2028. The official said the deals would result in billions of dollars of new investment in the US maritime industrial base and add thousands of skilled trades jobs for Americans.

The Coast Guard’s operational polar fleet currently includes only two operational Arctic security cutters, the official said.

Mr Trump and Mr Stubb are also likely to discuss Russia’s ...